We came back from Italy the other day. It has been very cold in UK due to the cold front from Russia staying in UK from mid-December, and it is the biggest chill since the winter of 1981/82. As we were used to mild Italian weather of around 10º for 2 weeks, we suffer with the chill quite badly. The sky has been always white and it has snowed some times everyday since we are back. I felt strange that less than 2-hour flight showed me the completely different views, when I saw the land just before our airplane touched down on Heathrow Airport (photo above).

British winter is rather mild although it is located in comparatively high latitude. The country is not used to severe cold weather and gets paralyzed when the big cold front hits. Luckily our flight arrived at Heathrow airport with 1 hour and half delay, but many flights, mainly domestic and short-haul flights, have been canceled and have been affecting people’s travel plans. Many delays of train lines also reported, and Eurostar broke down AGAIN on January 7th – it got huge criticism after notoriously three days of service were cancelled from December 22nd. The accidents and injuries related to the chill has been increasing, and it is predicted that salt stocks may run out if the cold weather stays long. Food supply has been disturbed due to the snow and icy roads. Consumer activities have dropped and UK economy has been hit hard. Many schools are closed, and it is anticipated that some students may fail to sit this week’s GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education), if weather prevents them taking the exam.

Although these reported chaos sound terrible, London functions relatively OK, except the mess on the streets and cancellations and delays of public transportations. However, it seems to me that UK has failed to prepare for the relatively mild cold front (for me) just below 0º temperature and has gone into such a mess. It is true that the winter is mild here, but the average winter temperature of around 5º (London) is not warm either, and the cold front, bigger or smaller, could happen anytime.

Met Office, the national weather service, has been heavily criticized for getting its forecasts wrong recently. Their forecast of a “Barbecue Summer” last year ended up heavy rainfall and the wettest July for almost 100 years. The organisation’s prediction of a mild winter in 2008-09 was also criticised after heavy snow fell last February and parts of southern England had their coldest night for 20 years in January. They issued the prediction of high probability of warm winter 2008/09 and again, they are wrong. The head of the Met Office is under attack, as he received a 25% pay rise and now is paid more than the Prime Minister during Met Office is harshly criticized of its incompetency.

We received a request of renewal of TV Licensing the other day by post. In the UK, TV owners are required to obtain an official TV license for the reception of TV and radio broadcasts. The licence fee represents approximately 75% of the public broadcasting BBC‘s income. The current annual license fee for a colour television licence is £142.50 and £48.00 for black and white TV, and is charged on a family unit per household basis, which means there could be many TVs per household covered by a single license. The license fee is free for over-75s and 50% discount for people with visual impairment. Payment can be made via online (monthly, quarterly, or annual payment by Direct Debit, or debit or credit card payment), over the phone, sending a check via post, or at over 20,000 PayPoint outlets nationwide located in the shops and supermarkets. You can carry over your TV license to a new address by updating your information online or by post. Refunds are available for complete unused quarters that remain on your TV Licence at the point it was no longer needed, for example, moving abroad. Astonishingly 95% of British paid the TV license fee in 2007/08 period, but you have no choice but pay, if the fine is up to £1000 and you are bombarded with scary TV adverts (below) or posters.

Like the Council Tax, the TV licensing fee has been going up and up every year. The first time we paid for the TV license in 2003 was £116, therefore, £26.50 increase (about 23％) in 6 years. Although there are some silly programs, BBC also produces many good quality programs and I don’t complain to pay for TV license. However, BBC is also criticized the way they handle license fee payers’ money, such as executives’ high salaries and expenses, secret pay deals of star presenters, and expenses on luxurious villa in Cannes. Popular TV presenter Jonathan Ross‘s salary was £6 millions, before the £3million pay cut due to the Andrew Sachs affair. I hope they understand the current hard economic circumstances and license fee payer’s sentiments, and use our money more discreetly.